1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a photovoltaic device formed by the deposition of semiconductor based layers on a removable substrate.
2. Description of Related Art
Prior art in this area includes U.S. 2010/0059107; U.S. 2008/0295882; U.S. 2008/0072953; U.S. 2008/0023070; “Silicon-Film™ Solar Cells by a Flexible Manufacturing System”; J. Rand, AstroPower, Inc.; NREL/SR-520-30881; February 2002; “Thermal Simulation Model of a Roll-to-Roll Silicon Thin-Film Solar Cell Deposition Reactor”; Nadir, K.; 2007 Society of Vacuum Coaters; 50th Annual Technical Conference Proceedings (2007); ISSN 0737-5921,192-194. Preceding references incorporated in their entirety herein by reference. None of the cited prior art effectively addresses the primary issue for solar cells, namely low manufacturing cost coupled with commercial level conversion efficiency; solar cell module costs must be below $0.50/watt to begin to achieve parity with conventional utility pricing.